Online training helps basketball federation towards its goals : Coaches and players learn the steps to success

Purpose – Observes how the Federazione Italiana Pallacanestro (FIP), the Italian National Basketball Federation, has concluded that increasing emphasis must be placed on training coaches and players. That means implementing innovative training strategies to improve the competitiveness of all those operating in Italian basketball. Design/methodology/approach – Describes the training system adopted, how it is working in practice and the advantages it is expected to bring. Findings – Shows how the Docebo’s Cloud-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) learning management system (LMS) is currently managing and monitoring the learning records of some 2,000 basketball-related learners throughout Italy. The system is helping the FIP to manage a large number of training projects; allow the FIP’s basketball experts to share their knowledge online – especially with the association’s coaches; and enable the FIP’s managers to constantly monitor all the learners’ training records via the system’s in-built reporting tools. Practical implications – Reveals that while it is still too early to see the evidence of the new training regime’s success in terms of improved on-court international success, there is every indication that more learning materials are reaching more people under the auspices of the FIP than ever before. Social implications – Considers some of the advantages of sportsmanship over gamesmanship. Originality/value – Gives an example of e-learning in the sporting area.